Core to a minivan's many purposes is for the entire family to travel in comfort, which means carrying along food and drinks. And while the adults may not spill it in the car, children are sometimes not very careful how the car looks after their snack of biscuits and yoghurt. It is with such reckoning thus that the innovations team at Honda saw the need to have an efficient car cleaning system that utilizes the car's resources to take care of the crumbs and tidbits left etched in the seats. Honda Odyssey is already a multiple award winner in the minivan sector, and whether this creative game-changer will take the Odyssey to higher standards or will be as useless as a fifth wheel we are yet to find out. As for now let us see what the HondaVAC vacuum system really is.

Creativity Redefined

Co-developed with Shop-Vac, the HondaVAC vacuum system is the first ever in-built vacuum system to feature in a car. It comes standard on the 2014 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite® model and is composed of a powerful vacuum cleaner, canister bag and replaceable filter with nozzle accessories all separately stacked in the cargo area on the left side of the car. In most countries, this is usually the driver's side. The hose is long enough to clean the entire interior, and the attachments for the nozzle are specially designed to reach every corner of the vehicle. Even more interesting is that the system can run up to eight minutes when the vehicle is turned off and will run continuously as long as the vehicle is on.

Cargo space not compromised

Now if you think the system has eaten away what was previously precious minivan space, then you will be surprised. The 2014 Honda Odyssey's HondaVAC vacuum system is ingeniously stacked on the side of the cargo area just above and next to the rear left-side speaker. The vacuum is in a compartment adjacent to the speaker while the hose and nozzle attachments are right above it in a systematic arrangement. With the compartments closed you can barely notice any difference from a normal minivan. Those mental images you might have of bulging sides are entirely non-existent.

Being a multiple award winner and with a stream of technological innovations such as HondaLink ?, SMS text messaging function, HD Radio®, Keyless Entry with Push Start Button and now the HondaVAC system, the 2014 Honda Odyssey is remarkably an epitome of product development. Thumbs up; another first for Honda.